Can I stay with you?
by Monty23
Summary: My attempt to link Brennan and Booths night together in 6X22 to Brennan's announcement at the end of 6X23 – hope you like it.


**Can I stay with you?**

**My attempt to link Brennan and Booths night together in 6X22 to Brennan's announcement at the end of 6X23 – hope you like it. Just trying to stick to the characters as written in the series, so this is my disclaimer. Please review if you think it works.**

Chapter One

"Of course" Booth replied, his tone soothing and comforting as he gently eased her into his arms while he lowered them both onto his warm disheveled bed. Booth ignored the twinge in his back or the fact that his feet were still hanging out over the edge of the bed or that perhaps a visit to the bathroom would be needed soon. All he could think of right now was the distress Brennan was in and that her care and reassurance was more important then any personal discomfort he might have. He lowered them both down gently, providing her with a shoulder to cry on, a chest to sob her guts onto and a comforting arm to wrap around her.

… … …

Brennan was so distraught after the events of the day and the guilt and loss she felt over Vincent's death, that for now all she could do was expel deep sobs onto Booth's chest front. She had little concern for what he thought of her meltdown – he knew she wasn't as cold-hearted as the normal super-rational thought processes her public image usually portrayed – Booth knew her better. While he wasn't too familiar with her behaving like the sniveling wretch she was now, she had every faith in his understanding of her emotional state, and most of all she had complete trust in him.

"Bones, how are you feeling?" Booth asked after she'd become quiet, his tone incredibly gentle. Perhaps he sensed she'd settled down, her sobbing had finally come to a halt. "Can I get you anything, glass of water, tea?" He patted her shoulder as he asked her, an encouraging, friendly gesture.

"Thanks Booth, I'm feeling much better." Brennan raised her head and only then noticing how her tears had soaked into Booth's black tee shirt. "I'm afraid I've ruined your tee shirt. You might want to change." She looked up into his face, her expression apologetic.

'It's nothing, Bones. A few tears between friends." He again patted her shoulder and with his other hand guided tendrils of hair that had strayed loose back behind her ear. Brennan could feel his warm dry touch on her cheek and immediately felt the loss when he moved his hand away and said.

"Look, I have to use the bathroom. I'll be back in a minute." Booth gently kissed her on the top of the head and smiling warmly, released his arm from her shoulders and moved out as Brennan rose into a sitting position in Booth's bed.

"You sure you're okay? Booth asked.

Brennan responded: "I'm fine, honest. Thanks." she finished with a faint smile.

"I'll be back in a sec." As an afterthought he added with mock seriousness, his brown eyes focusing directly into hers. "Don't go anywhere."

As Booth left to go to the bathroom, Brennan had a chance to look around the room and moved her feet in under the sheets, only then realizing that hers and Booth's feet had been sticking out over the side of the bed and were getting cold. Of course he was wearing socks – his inevitable stripy socks – so he wouldn't have noticed. Brennan wiggled her toes against Booths cotton sheets, luxuriating in the crispy fabric. He'd been asleep when she called in not more than fifteen minutes earlier, so his bed was still warm, the sheets and cover fairly disheveled. Booth must have been tossing and turning as she had, his sleep as uneasy as hers had been. Perhaps he was worried for their safety or apprehensive about the urgency of catching Broadsky. His firearm was safely put away but it had been a bit unsettling to have it directed at her when she entered the room. Perhaps Booth was more shaken by events than he was letting on.

Brennan wondered if she should stay or go back to the couch. She was over her immediate trauma and was returning to her more rational state. She was worried for Booth and knew she wanted to stay with him. She had recently realized how much she had come to care for him – this she now considered a constant in her life, a reliable constant, as sacred to her as any scientific data, formula or fact. It didn't depend on his being able to reciprocate any particular feelings or actions. For her, her own self-awareness of this 'fact' was as valuable and steadfast to her as any forensic information. It would not go away and she would not let him down – this 'fact' she understood clearly and prided herself on her complete awareness of it. However she had to consider what Booth wanted.

Of course, he'd said "Don't go anywhere." So, Brennan stayed put. She lay down on Booth's pillow, straightened out the sheets and cover. Something about lying in Booth's bed made her feel contented. She wasn't sure if she should move over to one side or the other, but she didn't know what side Booth favored. When she moved her head to the side, she breathed in a faint but familiar scent of Booth – his shaving lotion, cologne or shampoo. It was familiar and it rocked her how the effect of it was having on her. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensations she could identify – the scent, feel of crisp cotton, warmth – yet empirically they didn't amount to the sense of total wellbeing and contentment she felt.

When the bathroom door opened and closed, Brennan let her eyes stay closed momentarily, not sure what Booth expected of her, waiting until he spoke.

"I've brought you some water, if you'd like some - I'll leave it here." Booth said as he rounded the edge of the bed, leaving a glass on the bedside locker.

Brennan's voice when she said "Thanks" was strange to her own ears. She knew it sounded odd because she was unusually unsure of herself and aware she was embarrassed. She was lying in Booth's bed but she wasn't sure what she should be doing there. She was almost afraid to look at Booth so instead she sat up and reached for the glass of water. Booth was putting the glass down as she was reaching for it so the glass full of water didn't have time to settle and before she realized what had happened she'd let a big splash of water out over the edge of the bed onto her arm and onto the pillow.

"Bones, careful!" When he realized how much had landed on her arm, he laughed out loud, telling her "Now we're quits – we're both soaked!" The relief of tension was infectious and soon Brennan was laughing at her own silly mistake.

"You can't lie on that pillow, Booth."

"OK, move over." Brennan moved deep in under the sheets and onto the other pillow, just as Booth threw the wet pillow out and climbed in under the sheets, bringing himself right up beside her. "We can share this one." he indicated as he lowered his head onto the pillow inches from her face, tucking the sheets and cover in behind him. "Mmm, this is cozy!"

Brennan was used to Booth's humor and was relieved that his banter could have such a calming effect on her.

"Are we going to sleep like this?" Brennan asked him thinking there was no way she was even going to shut her eyes with him lying there, his head in such proximity to hers, looking directly into her eyes.

"Why, can you not sleep?" He asked innocently, the sarcasm evident even to Brennan. While he spoke, she could smell the faint peppermint freshness from his exhaled breath and instead of answering his question, said.

"Hey, you've washed your teeth – that's not fair!"

"You wouldn't want me sharing your pillow if I didn't smell and taste delicious, now would you?"

Brennan responded "Yes, but you've the advantage - I haven't washed my teeth!"

Booth answered with a grin "Well, if I'm not complaining, why should you mind?"

"I'll mind!"

"Okay. How about you have a refreshing 'drink' of water?" he emphasized "But not splashed this time?" As he made this suggestion Booth raised himself up onto his elbow and reached back across the bed to pass Brennan the glass. She was very aware of the movement of the muscles in his shoulder and arm as he leaned back at such an awkward angle to retrieve the glass, the tautness of his tee being pulled over his chest. He was very careful not to spill it, and, to distract herself from the images of Booth's body, as she imagined it under his tee, she took some gulps. On the third gulp, she decided to gargle the water as if she was rinsing her mouth and Booth started to laugh at her expression. She had taken too much water into her mouth and keeping her mouth closed she realized was now a problem, her eyes bulging wide open.

"Bones, you're going to choke!" Booth laughed, but Brennan just managed to swallow, her face easing after the near fright she'd caused herself. She tried to reach back with the glass but as Booth freed it from her hand replacing the glass on the locker top, he captured her arm pulling it over his shoulder while he brought his hand up to caress the upper part of her arm and shoulder, his whole body now in line with hers. She'd become giggly and wasn't sure how to respond. He had moved into her arms in a very clear signal of what he wanted, no more ambiguity. She could feel his shoulder and the edge of his tee shirt at the back of his neck with her hand and realized that she wanted to touch him all over.

"Well, do you want to taste this minty freshness, or what?" Booth asked her, grinning at the cheekiness of his request and moving even closer to her, his breath on her face pleasant and starkly intimate.

Her eyes widened and she couldn't think of a thing to say in response to such a direct question. Or course she wanted to kiss Booth, but all of a sudden she'd become shy. She could feel his pajama clad legs against her own but was only now becoming conscious of the loose oversized pajama bottoms and sweatshirt she'd borrowed. If Booth was interested in making out – or whatever this was, she wasn't sure what kind of control she'd have. She was already overwhelmed by his closeness – and it seemed turned mute by his charm.

Booth touched her lips with his own, with super-light butterfly kisses, tantalizing and teasing her, and not what she was hoping for or what she expected.

"Well, Bones, is this ok?" He whispered. "I'm not overstepping any mark here, am I?"

She struggled to even say "No", all she wanted was his lips back on hers, she moved in closer, opening her mouth fully onto his, his lips pressed firmly as the kiss deepened, the minty flavor of his toothpaste being shared as his tongue entered her mouth. She could feel the smoothness of his jaw and could smell the scent of shaving products. Brennan got her voice and her sense of humor back.

"You shaved! This is _so_ premeditated!" She exclaimed pulling her head back slightly. "And I was worried I was keeping you from your sleep." She leaned her elbow on the pillow behind his head and raised herself up as she freed her other arm. She was now leaning on Booth's chest gazing into his smiling face, welcoming a whole new level of intimacy between them. His hands were now on her back, one on her shoulder at the neckline of her borrowed sweatshirt, the other had crept up under her sweatshirt onto the small of her back, where each movement of his hand sent electrical shocks through her system. Just looking at him, feeling his hands now travelling over her lower back was turning her to mush, but she wanted more. She lowered her mouth back onto his, as she felt his hand gradually moving down to the top of her pajama bottoms, gently caressing her, her tongue couldn't get deep enough into his mouth, her breathing now ragged. Booth's leg entwined with hers as he tried to increase the contact between them. She welcomed his gesture, wrapping her legs around his.

"Can I take off some of these clothes? We don't need them, do we?" Booth whispered coarsely. She knew it was her bottoms he was referring to as his hand was deliberately trying not to creep in at the elasticated edge but had run out of places to go.

Brennan brought her own hand down over his tee shirt to the top of his pajamas and pulled at the back of them. She wanted to explore his back and feel the smooth skin of his chest and shoulders and to reciprocate the caresses he was treating her to, but he had moved things on and she was ready. She knew she was ready for Seeley Booth.

In reply, Brennan edged down his pajamas pulling the elasticated waist over his hips when he helped speed things and discarded his pajamas with a lob to the other side of the room. It was now her turn.

"Let me" he offered. He moved his hand slowly and carefully around from the back of her bottoms to the front, hardly moving an inch at a time, then eased his hand gradually around to the back again all the time caressing and tantalizing Brennan. She couldn't hold out any longer.

"Booth, you're evil!" he knew exactly what he was doing. Every touch was reducing her to a tingling mass and all she craved for was to have that tingling desire sated. She put her hand over his and pushed her pants down, moving her legs free of the offending garment before she wrapped her legs and arms around him.

Booth groaned in surprise and delight and rolled the two of them over so he was leaning on her as she lay back on the one pillow. His hands had returned to their exploration, now hovering above her pants-free pubic bone before followed a trail up her midrib and sternum under her sweatshirt to cover first her left breast with his warm dry hand before moving to her right side. He lowered his mouth to her stomach where he followed the trail his hand has just covered but now with light gentle kisses. Brennan just wanted to scream. She could feel his erection as it pressed between her legs and she wanted to feel it, feel him inside her.

"Booth, now! I can't wait!" She was shocked she had said out loud what she was feeling. But this was her partner of six years, he knew her well, she should hardly concern herself with what he thought of her eagerness.

Booth brought his caresses to a halt instead concentrating on making sure she was ready for him. Any doubts were soon expelled as he eased himself in, checking she was ok, her responses clearly showing she was. The urgency of their long awaited union overshadowed any further exploration and soon vigor and need brought them to a simultaneous climax. Brennan was overwhelmed by the sensitivity and thoughtfulness of Booth's lovemaking and she was reduced to a clinging limpet for whole minutes after he withdrew. Booth didn't protest, she could sense his contentment as he rocked her gently. Brennan felt that if she hadn't already shed so many tears this evening she'd be crying for joy now.

… … …

Brennan wondered if Booth had fallen asleep, the rhythmic and even nature of his breathing suggested he was. Her head was resting on his chest as it had earlier in the night under different circumstances. She could feel his regular and strong heartbeat and wondered what would happen if she moved. She raised herself up so she could look at his face.

She was leaning on him but she didn't know if he was aware of it. For some reason she wanted him to feel her movement and wake up but as he hadn't stirred so she had to presume he was asleep. This bothered her, she didn't know why.

"Booth", she whispered, "Are you awake?"

His eyes shot open, a broad grin on his face.

"Ready for more?"

"Booth!" She exclaimed, surprised and delighted with his reaction.

"But you've to get your sleep so you can find Broadsky. I don't want to be responsible for keeping you up when you've such an important day tomorrow.

"Okay, how about this for a deal. We both go to sleep – for what, 3 hours?" Booth looks at his alarm clock. " Then I'll wake you for breakfast. But you've to promise me one thing." Booth looked seriously at Brennan, his voice low and husky. "You've to promise me that you'll come back with me tomorrow night and stay for the night, just you and I, the night all to ourselves, here … What do you say?"

"Booth, I'd want that more than anything." She reached forward, gently caressing his cheek and his lower lip with her fingertips. With a gentle shy smile on her face, she finished. "It's a date!"

Booth agreed more confidently "It's a date!" He took her exploring hand and kissed her fingertips before declaring "Time for sleep!"

Before they settled in to spoon positions for the rest of the night with Booth's arm draped over Brennan's belly, Booth whispered in her ear "I may have to wake you if I get some energy build up. Okay?"

"Booth, you can wake me anytime!" Brennan whispered back as she snuggled down on her side of the pillow and fell fast asleep.

… … …

**Please review if you like it and I'll try and have another chapter in the next day or two.**


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